Misunderstandings

This is why we encourage new staff to learn some survival german. Click on the link and enjoy. If someone can tell me how to post it on my blog I would appreciate it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD4roXEY8hk

I wish there were no more diseases

Well, sickness has hit our household. Anna woke Jeff and I up at 2 am on sunday with the wonderful sound of throwing up. Fortunately, she was on her way to the bathroom and didn't get any on her bed. I guess that is a benefit of sleeping on the bottom bunk. I'd rather clean the mess up on the floor than strip a bed and get new sheets in the middle of the night any time. What makes it worse is that the kids sleep on foam mattresses so they act like a giant sponge. Besides, the floor in the kids room is not carpeted so clean up is a snap! Germans think carpet is very unhealthy that is why most homes have hardwood or tile floors. They are nice but cold in the winter. I am so glad that she got sick on a Sunday. Jeff was home and could help me with Sarah as I took care of Anna. I quaratined Anna in the upstairs living room and wouldn't let Sarah near her. The last thing I want is a sick baby. Anna is still on the mend, dealing with a fever and aches. But she is now singing again which was lacking yesterday. As long as I keep the crackers, juice and movies coming she is fine. This morning Anns said, "mom, I wish there were no more diseases because this isn't fun." I hope this doesn't become a domino effect with the rest of the family! The snow is melting and the weather is warming I hope everyone can stay healthy! Here is Jacob reading to Anna to take her mind off her misery.

Snow!!

Guess what, we finally got snow here in Germany! It snowed all night and is still coming down. The temperature is below freezing and it finally feels like winter. School wasn't cancled today with over three inches of snow on the ground. I made sure Jacob and Anna left for the bus with all their snow gear on. Anna said she felt like "Randy" from the Christmas story movie. I know that there are going to be some good snowball fight stories when they get home today.



Here is the view from our balcony this morning. Jeff decided to ride his scooter in. Once he called me to let me know he arrived safely, I promptly balled him out for doing somthing so crazy like that.

I know that many of you in the states must be tired of all the snowy weather, but you have to admit there is nothing better than to be inside with a warm cup of hot chocolate and see the pretty scene outside your window.

Good day eh?

Ever wonder what kind of american accent you have. Try this fun quiz and see the results. You may be surprised. People peg Jeff and I from the mid west around here.

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have

Sunday afternoon walk

Since we are having such a mild winter here, we decided to go on a walk in our village. It was a nice day and felt good to get the heart pumping a bit. Jeff took us on a loop close to our house that I had not been on before. Here we are in front of a typical barn in our village.


Walking along the path you can see the neighborhood above that we live in. Our home is the one on the end with the red roof next to another house in the middle with a red roof. From our balcony we can see the lights of Basel at night.

Last stop on the path before we turn to head up to our home, a pet cementary. The "pooh bear"peeking out by the sign is really sarah showing off her new hat that we bought up at Walmart.

One last cute picture of Sarah on the walk.

weekly happenings

We have been busy around here. Life keeps moving for us now that school is back up and going. Last week we experienced heavy wind storms but were spared any major damage in our area of Germany. We still have mild weather here but there are whispers of snow for this week which we are all excited about. In the mean time, we continue to enjoy our ministry here at BFA. Getting to know the MK's at our school is a real joy to us. Think of high school age kids who genuinely enjoy talking to adults like us with three kids. Wow! Anna enjoyed her first friend sleep over this weekend. Her friend Caylie come home with us after the basketball game on Friday night. The girls got to sleep in the big bed downstairs. Here they are in the morning hanging out.

This weekend, I also decided to give Sarah her first hair cut. She had some bangs that were very uneven and hanging in her eyes. So while I was feeding her dinner, I just cut away. She kept eating and didn't move at all. What do you think?

Jacoh and Anna sure love to shower Sarah with attention. Their favorite activity is to walk her back and forth. This morning all three of them were walking together before Jacob and Anna left for school. It was one of those sweet memories moments that I had to capture on the camera.

Say Cheese

Lately, Sarah has gotten into smiling for the camera. She is now displaying this smile at strangers while I go to the grocery store. Sometimes I think she is going a little over board with her grin. What do you think?


And I thought Anna was the ham of the family.

Ben Franklin

Fourth grade is a fun year. Jeff taught fourth grade and enjoyed his students. Jacob is now in fourth grade. I have decided that fourth grade is the year of projects. This week, Jacob wrote, dressed up and talked about Benjamin Franklin. He had to read his biography over Christmas break. Jeff went over to the elementary school and watched the students give their presentations. Jacob had a few slip-ups with pronunciation such as the "document of independence" and "Poor Richard's Atlas." But other than that, he did a great job.

Jacob was the first to give his presentation and he jumped right up there and gave his talk complete with his bifocals and kite with key. Did you know that Ben Franklin was born on this day ( Jan 17, 1706)? I just heard it on the news. Is that cool or what?!

Look Who's One!

What a year it has been with our Sarah Ruth. We had a party yesterday night and invited our friends B-house, Jennifer and their daughter Taylor over to celebrate with us. Sarah couldn't figure out why we kept singing to her all day. Here she is opening up presents from her grandparents. This doll came from Grandma and Grandpa Benjamin. It giggles like a baby.

Grandma and Grandpa Bontrager sent Sarah this fun pop up toy. Sarah got mad at Anna when she tried it out first.
Here is a more flattering picture of Sarah with her new toy.

Now for the traditonal photos of the first birthday cake! I made cupcakes and put them in the shape of a number one. That is about as far as my creativity goes.

Sarah couldn't resist the frosting and soon she had gotten her fingers in it and started eating it.


Then we let her go at her own cupcake. She loved it and let me know that she would like to have another birthday again!

24/7

I have realized something. The hardest time to love your baby is at 7 am when she has kept you up half the night because she doesn't feel like sleeping. This is true especially when it happends out of the blue and carrys on once, or twice a week. I know now that when she wakes up, she is up for a two hour streatch. It is always the night before something big. Last week, it was the night before Jeff left for his snow walk and needed to leave the house at 4 am. I think he got two hours of sleep before his competition. I guess motherhood is a 24/7 job with no real rest for the weary and bleary eyed. Thankfully there is coffee! But you know, you can't stay mad at her for very long as cute as she is! Anyone have any advice?

Snow walk

Still no snow here in Germany. In fact, this has been the warmest winter we have ever experienced here. It took Jeff and a German friend a trip down to the Swiss Alps in order to find some snow. They participated in a snow walk in a ski area called Arosa. The weather was beautiful and the sceanery was spectacular. Here are a few pictures of his day.

Jeff completed the race in two hours and 30 minutes. He walked a total of about 10 miles. Here is a picture of the track that they competed in.

I think Jeff stopped here to yodel a few bars from the Whilhem Tell overture.

End of a long day but a great way to finish off break and prepare for the second half of the school year. Bring on the stress!!!

Here come the teletubbies again

The other day, Jacob was checking out what was on tv. We do receive english channels thanks to our hook up to England. So when he saw that the teletubbies were on, he thought that maybe Sarah would enjoy watching it. Sarah sat very still and clapped her hand when the teletubbies showed up. She "danced" when they danced. It was all very cute. I remember when these creatures first debuted when Jacob was alittle older than Sarah. Now, I am forced to endure them again. But I am sure that it won't be that bad or will it!? By the way, she actually crawled up to the tv and stood there. I think she wished she could be transported to teletubbie land.

Ein Wunder Schon Urlab

Well, we have returned from our trip to the eastern portion of Germany. We spent time in both Chemnitz and Halle they are both close to Leipzig. It was a nice time with our german friends. They were very warm and enjoyed showing us their cities. For Jeff and I, we always marvel at the difference b/t our corner of germany to the far eastern portion. The history that this country has endured is fascinating when you are able to talk with people who lived through it and what their experences were like. Here we are in Chemnitz with our hosts Matthias and Katrin with their son Antony.

They took us to the highest hotel in the city so we could get a better view of the city.

During the cold war, Chemnitz was renamed "Karl Marx Stadt". This was of course from the Russian influence. We came across this image of him in the city- it is kind of an errie feeling seeing it now and knowing the hardships that many endured during those days both economicaly and spritually. Notice the Russian language on the wall behind the statue.

After a long day of walking around the city, we went back to their apartment for dinner. Sarah and Antony had fun playing toether, sarah was a little tired though.

That evening, we drove on to Halle, where the parents of Matthias live. This was the city where Jeff studied for a summer while he was in college. He has been able to maintain a good relationship with the Holwhein famly. Ute had made a nice meal for us and included an American flag and German flag for our enjoyment.

Here we are in the front of the university in Halle where Jeff studied. Many great thologians were influenced here at the Franke Stiftungen. Martin Luther was one of them. The sign says simply Franke Stiftungen- He believed in God. This marker stood during the cold war regime what a witness to the people of Halle! Sadly, many are blind to their need for Christ!

On New Years day we walked around the city some more. Germans like to walk it is good for your health! We suggested a nice meal at a resturant and they took us here. It was a fun place - it felt like a theme resturant that you would find in the States. On the outside is a big sign that read in both english and german that Michale Gorbachav had eaten there once. The food was great!
After a great visit, it was time to head back to our corner of Germany. On our way home, we stopped for lunch and discovered an American diner. It was a fun place to eat complete with internet radio from a station in San Francisco that played back ground music. However, the highlight for us was the fact that the resturant served- ROOT BEER! How good that tasted to us all even Sarah!